Beautiful colonial streets, houses, plazas, and churches. Enjoy the unique warmth and sunsets of this colorful city, the great variety of typical food to taste, and many cenotes to explore.
Top 3 plans in Mérida
1. Walk the Historic Center
One of the best plans in Mérida is to walk through the historic center and admire the colonial architecture, churches, and plazas.
This walk can start from Plaza Grande, the main square of Mérida. In the square, visit the Montejo House Museum, the Government Palace, the Cathedral of San Ildefonso, and the National Palace.
Photo: Montejo House Museum facade.
During the week, different cultural events are also held in the square. On Saturdays at 8 pm, there is a Pok Ta Pok exhibition in front of the Cathedral, a historical Mayan ball game. On Sundays throughout the day, you will find the Mérida en Domingos market in the square, with food and crafts stalls all day.
After exploring the main square, walk north along 60th Street, where you will find very beautiful buildings and plazas, including the Church of Jesus of the Third Order, the Jose Peón Contreras Theater, and the Santa Lucia Park. After walking for a while, it’s time for a break in several recommended places.
Photo: Jose Peón Contreras Theater.
Photo: Church of Jesus of the Third Order.
Photo: Square in front of the Church of Jesus of the Third Order.
For ice cream, you can go to Pola Gelato, with very rich gelatos based on milk and water, in classic and more exotic flavors, such as the flan de la cubanita.
Photo: Delicious chocolate gelato at Pola.
For an outdoor coffee, I recommend Café Peón Contreras, next to the Peón Contreras Theater, which faces the park by the maternity hospital. The most pleasant thing about this cafe is the tables to sit outside, in front of the park. It is ideal to rest for a while and enjoy the atmosphere of Mérida.
Photo: Café Peón Contreras.
But if you prefer to eat something delicious or have a delicious coffee, the place to go is Soco Mérida, a small bakery with delicious coffees, and even more delicious croissants. We tried the dark chocolate-covered croissant. It’s a diabetic coma, but very delicious.
Photo: Ready to try the dark chocolate-covered croissant!
After the break, continue walking towards the Paseo de Montejo, a wide and beautiful avenue with trees, beautiful houses, shops, and museums to visit. This avenue was completed in the early 19th century, during the economic boom in Yucatán, driven by the henequen industry (a plant with multiple commercial uses, mainly textiles).
Here, the plan is to walk along the avenue and explore its different stores, museums, and restaurants. A recommended store is “Tejón Rojo”, where you can find gifts and souvenirs of Mexican popular culture.
Photo: Montejo bike route on Sunday mornings.
On Sunday mornings, Paseo Montejo closes to vehicles so that people can walk or ride bicycles through the lanes. There are also various sports activities scattered along the avenue.
2. Visit the Santiago Market
The Santiago Market is the ideal place to try different Yucatecan dishes. This market is small, beautiful, and pleasant.
Photo: Santiago Market entrance.
Here, the main point to visit is called Taquería Lupita. This market stall is famous for its cochinita pibil tacos, Yucatan’s flagship preparation: Pork marinated in achiote (a spice made from red seeds used as a spice), sour orange or other citrus, and cooked slowly in an oven buried underground (píib) and wrapped in banana leaves.
Photo: Waiting excitedly for cochinita pibil tacos.
Note that this place only opens until 1:30 pm, so you can go for breakfast or lunch. It’s okay, it’s normal to have tacos for breakfast in Mexico!
At Taquería Lupita, you can try cochinita pibil in tacos, salbut (fried tortilla), or panuchos (fried tortilla stuffed with refried beans). In addition to cochinita pibil, here you can also try roast suckling pig and black stuffing (turkey in black chile broth).
Taquería Lupita is not the only stall with delicious food to try at the Santiago Market. For delicious shrimp tacos or ceviche, go to the stand called Tetiz.
Photo: Inside the Santiago Market.
In the evenings and nights, the La Reina Itzalana stall, in front of the square that faces the entrance of the market, offers delicious Yucatecan dishes. Here you can find panuchos, salbutes, Sopa de Lima (soup made from turkey broth, lime, and tortilla chips), horchata (drink made from rice with sugar), and pineapple water with chaya (green leaf similar to spinach). This place is very pleasant to sit in the evenings, especially when there are events in the front plaza.
If after visiting this market, you feel like knowing another, you can go to the San Benito Market, but this one is larger, more lively and in some parts may not be as clean or pleasant. I recommend you first go to the Santiago Market and then go to this one if you want to visit more markets.
Photo: Chilies, spices, and recados at San Benito Market.
3. Visit the Santa Barbara Cenotes
Cenotes, a name that comes from the Mayan language meaning “hole with water”, are natural swimming pools with crystal clear water, where you can swim, snorkel, and even dive. These are created by the dissolution of limestone rock over time, forming underground chambers.
Picture: One of the three beautiful cenotes of Santa Barbara.
An unforgettable plan in the Yucatan region is to visit the cenotes.
Around Mérida, there are many options for cenotes to visit, but our recommendation is the Santa Barbara cenotes, for the ease of access and because you can see 3 cenotes in the same place.
To get to the Santa Barbara cenotes, you can take public transportation at the Homun collective station. Here, you wait for a van to fill up with passengers and for an economical fare, they will take you to Homun.
The way to enter the cenotes is before arriving at Homun. You can ask the driver to stop at the entrance of Santa Barbara Cenotes. Once you get off the van, walk through the entrance for about 5 minutes to reach the main reception where you can buy your tickets to enter the 3 cenotes (Chaksikin, Cascabel, and Xoch).
The entrance fee is 500 pesos per person, a somewhat high cost compared to other cenotes, but we think it’s worth paying for the quality of the facilities and the good care of the cenotes. Once you pay your entrance fee, you can visit each cenote by bike (included in the entrance fee) or in a cart guided by a horse. We chose the bike and really enjoyed it.
Picture: Ready for a break after visiting the cenotes.
The 3 cenotes are beautiful, but our favorite was the last one, following the established route on the way.
Picture: Admiring the crystal clear water.
To return to Mérida, go back to the main road and in the direction towards Mérida, wait for the next van.
Map of places to eat and visit in Mérida
If you use Maps.me or Organic Maps, you can download the map of places to eat and visit in Mérida here and import it into these applications to use their offline map functions.
Best places to eat in Mérida
⭐️ Taquería La Lupita / $ / Google Maps
This stand inside the Santiago Market is famous for its cochinita pibil, Yucatan’s signature preparation. It only opens until 1 pm usually, so you can go for breakfast or lunch. It appeared on the Netflix show “Las Crónicas del Taco”.
⭐️ Pancho Maíz / $$ / Google Maps
Picture: Open kitchen at Pancho Maíz.
Excellent quality Mexican food at reasonable prices. Everything on the menu is delicious. Our favorites were the mushrooms.
La Reina Itzalana / $ / Google Maps
Offers delicious Yucatan dishes, such as panuchos, salbutes, Sopa de Lima, horchata, or pineapple water with chaya. Nice place to sit at night, when there are events in the square in front of Santiago Market.
Taquería Tetiz / $ / Google Maps
Traditional stand in the market to try the breaded shrimp tacos. They also have octopus and fish tacos.
Wayan’e / $ / Google Maps
Taco place, famous for its Castakan tacos (crispy pork belly) and its delicious fresh waters.
Las Marquesitas / $ / Google Maps
Marquesitas stand on the street next to the Peón Contreras Theater, with several nice places to sit.
Manjar Blanco / $$ / Google Maps
Picture: Queso relleno.
It appeared on the gastronomic series on Netflix, “Las Crónicas del Taco”. Here, the specialties are queso relleno and cochinita pibil tacos.
⭐️ Soco Mérida / $$ / Google Maps
Small bakery with delicious coffee, and even more delicious croissants and breakfasts. We tried the dark chocolate-covered croissant, and it’s very delicious.
⭐️ Café Peón Contreras / $$ / Google Maps
Next to the Peón Contreras Theater that faces the maternity park. Although I didn’t see anything very interesting on the menu to try, the tables to sit outside in front of the park are very pleasant to rest for a while and enjoy the atmosphere of Mérida.
⭐️ Casa Tostadora Manifesto / $$ / Google Maps
Great place to have coffee, work, or take a break. They have different coffee preparations from the best regions of Mexico.
Marago Café Centro / $$ / Google Maps
Nice cafe near the main square to have good coffee or work.
Voltacafé Santa Lucía / $$ / Google Maps
Comfortable cafe with indoor and outdoor tables, ideal for an afternoon of work.
⭐️ Pola Gelato / $$ / Google Maps
Very tasty gelatos made from milk and water, in classic and more exotic flavors, such as flan de la cubanita.
Santiago Market / $ / Google Maps
Nice and small local market, ideal to try different Yucatecan dishes.
Market 60 / $$ / Google Maps
Market with modern and gourmet gastronomic offers, as well as beers, cocktails. There is also live music and dancing at night.
San Benito Market / $ / Google Maps
Main market in Mérida, with a lot of movement. It is not as clean and organized as the Santiago Market.
Mérida on Sunday / $ / Google Maps
All-day Sunday market in the main square of Mérida, with handicrafts and different Yucatecan food stalls.
La Chaya Maya / $$$ / Google Maps
Famous restaurant among tourists and locals. In this place, you can find many typical Yucatecan dishes.
Best food to try in Mérida
⭐️ Cochinita Pibil
Pork marinated in achiote (a spice made from red seeds), bitter orange or another citrus juice, and slowly cooked in an oven buried underground (“Píib”) and wrapped in banana leaves. Where to eat: Taquería Lupita
⭐️ Sopa de Lima
Turkey broth soup, with lime and tortilla chips. Where to eat: La Reina Itzalana
⭐️ Panuchos
Tacos with fried tortilla filled with refried beans. Where to eat: Taquería Lupita
⭐️ Horchata
Rice-based drink with sugar. Where to eat: La Reina Itzalana
Relleno Negro
Turkey in black broth of roasted chilies and spices. Where to eat: Taquería Lupita
Lechón
Pork cooked in the oven, marinated with sour oranges and white recado (combination of spices). Taquería Lupita
Marquesitas
Crepes rolled with ingredients such as chocolate, cajeta (milk candy), or ball cheese. Where to eat: Las Marquesitas
Piña con Chaya
Drink with chaya, a vegetable similar to spinach. Where to eat: La Reina Itzalana
Salbutes
Taco with fried tortilla. Where to eat: La Reina Itzalana
Poc Chuc
Pork marinated in citrus juices and grilled. Where to eat: La Reina Itzalana
Queso Relleno
Cheese filled with ground pork in black broth of burned chilies. Where to eat: Manjar Blanco
Kibis
Fried balls of wheat and ground meat, originating from Lebanese cuisine. Where to eat: Mérida on Sunday
Papadzules
Tacos filled with boiled egg and pumpkin seed sauce. Where to eat: San Benito Market)
Best places to visit in Mérida
⭐️ Plaza Grande / Free / Google Maps
Wide square with trees and benches, surrounded by historic buildings and beautiful architecture. Several events take place here during the week. On Saturdays at 8 pm there is an exhibition in front of the Pok Ta Pok cathedral, the Mayan ball game. On Sundays, there is a food and crafts market in the square all day.
San Ildefonso Cathedral / Free / Google Maps
Cathedral completed in 1598, where previously a Mayan temple existed. Some materials from the old Mayan temple were used in its construction.
Montejo House Museum / Free / Google Maps
Museum with permanent and temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibition shows the decoration of wealthy families' homes in Yucatan in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Government Palace of the State of Yucatan / Free / Google Maps
Building on the opposite corner of the cathedral. Open to the public with more than 20 murals. On the facade, you can see a replica of the bell with which Miguel Hidalgo called the people to fight for the country’s independence.
⭐️ Jose Peón Contreras Theater / $$ / Google Maps
Large theater inaugurated in 1908. The theater is the current headquarters of the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra. In November 2022, part of the main stage was burned due to a short circuit.
⭐️ Maternity Park / Free / Google Maps
Nice park with trees and shade. Ideal for a rest on its benches and admire the architecture of the church of Jesus and the Peón Contreras Theater.
Jesus Church, Third Order / Free / Google Maps
Beautiful church surrounded by two squares and the Peón Contreras Theater. Built by Jesuits and completed in the late 17th century. On the wall facing the Hidalgo park, you can see two stones with Mayan carvings.
⭐️ Santa Lucia Park / Free / Google Maps
Nice park with benches, restaurants, bars, and awnings. Every Thursday at 9 pm, a free concert called Serenatas Yucatecas is presented.
Paseo de Montejo / Free / Google Maps
Photo: Biciruta Montejo on Sunday mornings.
Wide and beautiful avenue with trees, beautiful houses, shops, and museums to visit. This route was finished in the early 19th century, during the economic boom in Yucatan, driven by the henequen industry (a plant with multiple commercial uses, mainly textiles). On Sunday mornings, the Montejo Promenade closes to vehicles so that people can walk or ride bicycles on the roads. There are also different sports activities scattered along the avenue.
Yucatan Popular Art Museum / Free / Google Maps
Museum with exhibitions of objects from the local everyday culture.
⭐️ Santa Barbara Cenotes / $$$ / Google Maps
Complex with three cenotes on its premises, Chaksikin, Cascabel, and Xoch. Easy to reach by public transport at the Homún collective station.
Red Badger / $$ / Google Maps
Store with items from Mexican popular culture, ideal for souvenirs or gifts.
Homun Collective Station / $ / Google Maps
Collective station where you wait for a small van to fill with passengers and for an economic rate, they take you to Homún.